This is really fabulous.

He is funny, wise as hell, and every small page glows with powerful inspiration. Not cheesy, but right to the heart. I hate turning it back in to the library, so might have to break down and get a copy to dip into, in those times of weirdness and doubt that all creators slog through. ( )

This book has a great overall message and provides a general set of guidelines that's worth applying to your creative process. As someone struggling with writer's block pretty much every day, I found some of the reminders well-timed and refreshing. But that's why I also think the title is inaccurate, if not pretentious - the "10 things nobody told you" are most likely things you've heard of or told yourself before, things you might have forgotten for a moment while desperately searching for new ideas.

On another note, writing-wise, the book feels like it lacks some critical essence. There's a lot of sayings from famous people sprinkled throughout, and even paraphrased in every other (very short) paragraph, and I found myself paying more attention to the quotes themselves than what the author himself had to say. And there wasn't much of the latter. Sure, perhaps it's in the spirit of the book that he's deriving his message from those of the greats, because no one comes up with anything from scratch, but after a point I just felt like I was reading an unceasing sequence of quotes with a little filler holding them together, like scrolling through a bunch of inspirational pins on Pinterest. It's almost as though the author himself didn't make it through step 1 of his list - he still seems to be "stealing" from the words of others as a crutch, and has not yet discovered his own voice.

I'm not sure if there's a recommended age for this book - admittedly, I've had it for a few years myself and just never got around to it - but having finally read it, I'd personally recommend it to kids or young teens just beginning their creative pursuits. The text is short and easy to understand, and provides a bit of encouragement to beginning artists, etc.; it therefore serves as a good starting point if you're feeling lost, but doesn't do much else beyond that. Granted, a general direction is about all a self-help book can provide. I just wasn't a fan of the way this one was written - I'd rather read an entire memoir on the author's creative journey than a jumbled collection of advice from famous people. Perhaps he too could take a page from his own book, and evolve his creative process so that it no longer hinges strictly on the words and deeds of others. ( )

What a fabulous little book! It might be short on content, but it's long on wisdom - and that's exactly what I was hoping for when I picked it up. This is the kind of book I'll be reading over and over again. I got through it in under an hour, and that includes all the times I stopped to take notes, but I found myself nodding and smiling along every time I turned the page. Austin Kleon offers the kind of advice all artists would benefit from. It's straight-forward, no-nonsense advice, but with a touch of whimsy and humor. Basically, Austin gets us because he IS one of us. The book is both practical and inspirational, and it's found a permanent place on my keeper shelf. ( )

Short but a beautiful book. I love Austin Kleon’s prolific newsletter and his style of works. This is a good read for anyone who wants to build and ship thing. Not only artists, this book is for software developers or marketers or people running business. This is a well produced book that you can pick up anytime to equalise a dull-boring-stuck-in-the-rut situation into a refreshing moment. ( )

Common sense is not so common. This book is about uncommon commonsense.
Very effective. Very engaging.
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